This type of welding facility is known as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-47328 (JP 2001-47328 A). The welding facility disclosed in JP 2001-47328 A is shown in FIG. 23 hereof.
Referring to FIG. 23, a welding facility 200 is composed of a main welding line 201 and a sub-welding line 202 that merges with the main welding line 201. The sub-welding line 202 is composed of a front floor assembly line 203, a rear floor assembly line 204, and an engine compartment assembly line 205. A workpiece assembled using the assembly lines 203 to 205 is supplied to the main welding line 201, and welded to assemble a vehicle body.
The front floor assembly line 203 constituting the sub-welding line 202 is provided with first and second manufacturing facilities 206a, 206b. The rear floor assembly line 204 is provided with first and second manufacturing facilities 207a, 207b. The engine compartment assembly line 205 is provided with first and second manufacturing facilities 208a, 208b. Different types of products are assembled using the assembly lines 203, 204, 205.
However, a problem is presented when different types of products are welded and assembled in the welding facility disclosed in JP 2001-47328 A, in that a plurality of facilities corresponding to the plurality of product types on each sub-welding line is required, and the surface area needed for the facility is increased. Additionally, since the respective facilities are each dedicated to a specific type of product, few of the facilities can be shared, and difficulties are presented in terms of flexibly and effectively using the facilities.